African Organic Farming Training Manual

This project, started in October 2009, aims at delivering and enabling best farming practices to farmers, farmer groups, extension workers and trainers. The appropriate training materials developed by FiBL will help extension workers to better address and communicate with small-holder farmers and as a result encourage the application of new technologies for sustainable agriculture. This training manual is a key tool in the dissemination of sustainable agriculture best practices.

Organic agriculture is knowledge-intensive. Therefore, education is key to developing this form of sustainable agriculture. Farmers need to know, be able to analyse, be able to plan and to implement site-appropriate, sustainable farming systems. For example, they need to know:

• How to increase resource efficiency and to secure agricultural productivity.
• How to improve resilience of the production system.
• How to improve the value of their products and how to become more competitive.
• How to raise incomes and how to improve their livelihood.

In agricultural education, a good extension worker or a lead farmer can make a great difference for a farmer group. Today, however, many advisors and trainers work without any educational material. FiBL has joined forces with education experts in Africa to address the gap in agricultural education by providing solid training and learning tools.

The project aims at delivering and enabling best farming practices to farmers, farmer groups, extension workers, and trainers. This project produces materials for indoor and outdoor training including technical and didactical information, overhead transparencies for trainers, posters, booklets, videos, and radio programs. The appropriate training materials will help extension workers to better address and communicate with small-holder farmers and, as a result, encourage application of new technologies on sustainable agriculture. The overall goal of the project is to increase the options for farmers through knowledge and empowerment.

Project aims:
Improve the capability of African farmers to be better farmers and to express their needs, by providing education and knowledge on sustainable agricultural techniques;
Secure resilient agricultural production by managing local resources efficiently and sustainably, focusing on organic techniques;
Increase incomes and profitability of African farmers, and contribute to food security in Africa by promoting improved technologies for organic production and market-driven organic production systems.

Key Project Activities

1. Collect and evaluate existing training materials
2. Production of the manual content
3. Launch of the webportal and resource directory
4. Validation of the drafted training materials by African training organizations in pilot trainings and dissemination trials
5. Wider dissemination of finalized materials

• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture

• IFOAM, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, Germany,  www.ifoam.org
• NOGAMU, National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda, www.nogamu.org.ug
• FENAB, Senegal
• OPPAZ, Organic Producers and Processors
  Association of Zambia, www.oppaz.org.zm
• Experts from Africa

• Huber Beate (Department of International Cooperation; Vice-chairwoman of the Management Board)
• Nicolay Gian L. (Department of International Cooperation)

• Kadzere-Forichi Irene (Department of International Cooperation)
• Weidmann Gilles (Department of Extension, Training & Communication)

Coordination, development of content, editorial, dissemination

• Advisory tools (Department of Extension, Training & Communication, FiBL Switzerland)
• Policy & Sector Development (Department of International Cooperation, FiBL Switzerland)